Houston - From upstairs, John Watt usually hears shouts of protest. This is common. In the basement, J.J., D.J., T.J. and two or three of their friends are in the middle of a "shinny" hockey game. That is, the three Watt brothers are all on their knees with mini hockey sticks.

It's war. They beat each other up.

When he hears the shouting, Dad knows he's needed. He serves as goal judge. A full March Madness-style bracket hanging on the wall, these games are heated. J.J. cannot lose to his younger brothers.

"I think they'll be doing it when they're 50 years old, to be honest with you," John Watt said.

No, the motor doesn't stop at home either.

We love labels in sports. It's easy, it's convenient. When a 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive linemen from Pewaukee is chasing down NFL running backs and rag-dolling offensive linemen, he's a "lunch-pail" player. He's a "high-motor" player. With that comes a 6-foot ceiling.

Quickly, J.J. Watt has taken that perceived stereotype and crushed it.

Through five games, Watt is the front-runner for NFL defensive player of the year. He has 7½ sacks, has swatted away eight passes and is the undisputed backbone of the Houston Texans' defense. Sunday night, he'll be the Green Bay Packers' greatest challenge.

By now, no one's fooled. Watt is a hard worker, true. But this overachiever has an edge.

"You want to be known as a hard worker, you want to be known as a guy who goes out and makes plays," Watt said last week. "But what you don't want is for it to be an underhanded compliment. You don't want it to be one of those situations where, 'Yeah, he's not the best athlete. He's not the most talented guy. But he works hard.' I feel like I'm much more than just a hard worker."

Watt didn't sneak up on anyone in Wisconsin. He was always athletic, from middle school days of hockey through high school days of winning the state shot put title. Growing up, hockey was his sport. Watt lived with another family in River Falls to play for a team that competed in Minneapolis. He even played in an international tournament in Germany with some of the best players in the United States.

Yet as his dad said, "There aren't many 6-foot-6 guys playing hockey." In eighth grade, Watt's feet were size 13, and he was still growing.

Football it was.

Former Pewaukee coach Clay Iverson remembers an ultra-athletic, 225-pound specimen. The staff moved Watt from quarterback to the defensive line so he could make a greater impact on the run-first team. Memories of Watt scooping up a fumble and flipping the ball behind his back to a teammate are still fresh. Other times, they'd throw him jump balls.

The supreme athleticism, Iverson stressed, should have never been in question. That 37-inch vertical leap at Wisconsin's pro day only scratched the surface.

"He made himself a terrific athlete - not just a lunch-pail, hard-ass type of kid," Iverson said.

One other trait made Watt different.

"There's a thin line between confidence and arrogance," Iverson said. "He was confident without crossing over to arrogance. He stays hungry. He's never satisfied. He was able to stay incredibly hungry and driven.

"You put all those traits, all those things that make him special, and you have a perfect storm."

Watt's parents provided the fuel. When Watt left Central Michigan University, where he was a tight end, to walk on at Wisconsin after his freshman year, they were brutally honest. Watt would need to pay his college tuition. Until he earned a scholarship, Watt would be (mostly) on his own.

So that year on the scout team was survival to Watt. That 2008 season is what transformed J.J. Watt into a human freight train.

"All we ask," John Watt remembers telling his son, "when you come back here and go to Wisconsin is that you treat every practice - everything you do up there - like it's Super Bowl Sunday. You're going to have to sit out the whole year. You're not going to be able to play in the games. You're not going to be able to do anything, really that first year other than practice. Make that first year your Super Bowl year and show them what you can do."

That's what happened.

Wisconsin defensive line coach Charlie Partridge was at the other end of the field when Watt worked with the scout team. Quickly, stories spread. Players, coaches, everyone started talking about this kid that was getting under the skin of Wisconsin's vaunted offensive line.

Then Watt started showing up at Partridge's office to watch film of his practices on the scout team - something Partridge said only two other players in his 16 years of coaching have ever done. Watt sought the "why" behind the details of defensive end.

"His film study is relentless," Partridge said. "His practice tempo is off the charts all the time. It never wavers. Eventually, somebody has to have a lull. He never had it. . . . He was going against one of our better offensive lines every day in practice. He was down there approaching it like a game - every Tuesday and Wednesday."

Tight end Jake Byrne played against Watt that year. "Yeah," he laughs. It was "a whole lot of fun."

"I remember thinking when he was gone, 'All right, finally we get a little break in practice,' " Byrne said. "It was literally harder in practice than it was in games."

And you probably know the rest. Watt earned that scholarship and a starting spot and ended up getting drafted 11th overall by the Texans in 2011.

Watt is nearly 70 pounds heavier now than he was in high school. That change began the semester before he walked on at Wisconsin. In the Watt household, four meals per day is the norm. They sit down for dinner twice. There's always a second, full dinner at 8 p.m., followed by ice cream or a milkshake.

Typically, 3-4 defensive ends are not as disruptive as Watt. Many absorb multiple blockers. Any pass rush is a bonus. But dating to last season, Watt has 11 sacks in seven games. His challenge now is learning how to keep his tipped passes in play so teammates can intercept the ball.

So far, no team has had an answer for Watt. Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips continues to move him into one-on-one situations where the supreme athleticism and - yes, motor - take over.

"How many guys do you see that are his size, that carry the weight he does, that move the way he does? Jump the way he does?" Partridge said. "He's been blessed with a tremendous mind, great movement skills and - on top of all that - he has all the lunch-pail qualities. You put all those things together and you're going to have a chance at something very special."

There could be one concern with Watt. He has no "off" switch. None. If he sincerely is a player who never stops - who plays at one, dizzying, destructive tempo - how long can he realistically keep it up?

Partridge insists, again, Watt never let up in Madison, and he doesn't see Watt slowing down in the pros. Maybe the wheels will come off. Maybe Watt does return to earth. The league will just have to wait and see.

For now, Watt is "playing like somebody who should be in Canton," Partridge said. He's "changing the position."

To Watt, that's the plan.

"The greatest players, the greatest athletes of all time, have had the desire and the drive to do something that's never been done," Watt said. "That's what I'm striving for. I'm striving to do things that have never been done before. The only way I can do that is through extreme hard work and dedication to my craft."

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.